Ariel Winter: Years of criticism have made me jaded

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 30 (UPI) —Ariel Winter says her many years in Hollywood have made her somewhat jaded.

The 18-year-old Modern Family star said in the fall issue of Rogue that criticism “no longer hits her as hard” as it did in her early career.

“At this stage, you get sort of jaded after a certain period of time,” Winter said. “I feel like I’ve been in the industry for so long that I have gotten to the point where people’s comments and the exposure doesn’t bother me as much.”

“It still bothers when you get negative feedback for something, but it doesn’t hit me as hard as it would somebody just entering the industry,” she said.

Winter was just 11 years old when she debuted as Alex Dunphy on Modern Family. In recent years, she’s faced online hate and consistent media attention over her curvaceous figure and revealing social media posts.

“It’s called being a woman in the industry,” she told the magazine. “It’s complete sexism. It’s really degrading, annoying and sad that this is what the media puts out, it’s disgusting to me.”

One such instance occurred this month after Winter wore a tight crop top and skirt to Drake’s concert in Los Angeles. The actress responded to critics by encouraging them to love themselves.

“Every time someone bullies me online, it gives me a chance to re-emphasize to my fans, and even myself, how important self-acceptance is,” she wrote at the time. “Stop the hate. Accept all that you are and know your flaws are what make you the perfect you.”

Modern Family recently returned for an eighth season and airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET. Winter deferred college at the University of California, Los Angeles, to focus on the show, but plans to start classes in 2017.